When you fast, you don't drink water. The duration of the fast depends on the region (dawn, sunset). Typically now in France it will be from 3 am to 9 pm, roughly. However it is advised to drink water plenty after you end the fast.

The binge eating some of you make fun of (people gaining weight during Ramadan ) concerns people with already bad eating habits, who are not already pre-ramadan restraining junk food and/or eating in large quantities (especially fat, bread and oily foods).

I never gained weight during Ramadan, on the contrary I lost a lot of fat.

I think doing it the ramadan way (no food during roughly 19h, a solid meal a day, and a light one before dawn ) is good.
Will make a detailled post about the effects on me, while I am working out 5 times a week (first time I am doing this consistently on the regular).
To conclude: I am not convinced dry fasting is safe. Maybe I will try that just before Ramadan,to compare.

(04-07-2018 12:38 PM)VincentVinturi Wrote: Going beyond 3 days is impractical but I'd be curious how it affects muscle composition and productivity as the loss of those two things are my major concerns on a 3+ day fast.

Fasting has a minimal effect on your muscles. You body is smart. When it has no access to food, it goes through a process of steps. First, it uses up your glucose supply (i.e., carbohydrates), which usually takes 2-3 days. Then it uses up your fat supply, which is usually in the neighborhood of three months (unless you are already thin as a rail; then more like two months). Only then will your body cannibalize muscle. After it cannibalizes the organs, death ensues. So, starvation really does not begin until about the three month mark. Anything up to that point is just fasting.

For many people, productivity will suffer after the first day -- especially in the period when your brain is shifting from burning glucose to fat. Many people get brain fog for a day or so during that transition. Other people can run marathons while fasting. Everyone is different.

"Telling people you can go many days without water is not only stupid but irresponsible"

Pancho, I never said that. What I did say was a one day dry can be quite beneficial if you properly prepare yourself -- meaning drinking plenty of water (and fruits) before your fast. Emptying your system of water for a day of two and then drinking the 3 - 4 litres on the third day is like doing a inner body flush. I would not recommend going for more two days. In my last three 10 day fasts, the first two days were dry. But I properly prepared myself.

I also clearly said you are responsible and accountable for your own health.

You have read things wrong twice so far -- my post and the you tube blogger you watched.

(04-07-2018 10:40 AM)Dulceácido Wrote: Is anyone else confused by some of these posts? I'm guilty of posting nonsense, just to be funny, but try to make it serious (Suits, style--so it's more funny), but I can't tell if some of this is real or just someone poking fun at bullshit. The lines have been blurred.

Take note though:
- If you have never fasted do it under medical supervision.
- Your immune function is suppressed, especially during refeeding. You are more vulnerable to infections. Look up research about famines, people tend to die after the famine is over and they get access to food again.
- Some pathogens are likely to benefit from fasting. Every metabolic state is beneficial for certain microbes. Monitoring immune function might be ideal but there are no guarantees.

(04-07-2018 06:40 PM)Bain Wrote: What I did say was a one day dry can be quite beneficial if you properly prepare yourself -- meaning drinking plenty of water (and fruits) before your fast. Emptying your system of water for a day of two and then drinking the 3 - 4 litres on the third day is like doing a inner body flush.

You have completely made this up and have no idea what you're talking about.

There is no benefit to dehydration, none. There is no "inner body flush" by dehydrating yourself then drinking again- unless your "inner body flush" means recovering normal brain cell function, normal blood flow, heart rate etc that was increasingly degrading every moment you remained dehydrated. Yeah, I imagine it probably feels great to return to a normal functioning brain, cardiovascular and respiratory system after a number of days without it. What a great flush!

For anybody with a human body, here are just a few things happening to you under dehydration, ever increasing with time:

These things and more begin to compound on each other the longer it goes on.

Not dying after X number of days does not indicate purposeful dehydration is healthy, beneficial, good or smart to try. Zero benefits to not drinking fluids, and very real and increasing negative impact, from the very first hours.

Who would you rather take game advice from - a kissless virgin or a dude who gets laid regularly ?

Guys coming in here talking shit, claiming to be experts, and telling you what is (and what is not) healthy when they have never fasted a single day in their lives are the real trolls.

We get the same weak ass losers periodically show up in the NoFap thread, saying how there are no proven medical benefits to stop masturbating, despite 100 thread pages of vetted RVF dudes saying how they got endless mental & physical benefits, when they finally managed to quit.

Trust those guys who have walked the walk, not just talked the talk. They know first hand how it is to voluntarily go without food or water and the real effects it has on THEIR OWN body.

Ignore the pussies who make excuses about why you should even bother trying.

Please name the benefits of dehydration, in addition to why none of the negative effects of dehydration are true. That is all you have to do. If dehydration, or "dry fasts", are beneficial this should be very simple.

To be clear, this is specifically regarding "dry fasts", not real fasts, which I do think may hold benefits when done for the optimal length and conditions (which includes a lot of water btw).

There is no 100 page thread anywhere on the internet attesting to the benefits of not drinking fluids, because life sucks dehydrated.

There's actually 2 dry fast methods - one where you can touch (but not drink) water (washing hands, showering, etc) and another one where you are not even allowed to touch water. I did the more hardcore one...no touching water. The main benefit for me was much clearer, smoother and tighter skin. I always had a bottle of water next to me and some watermelon in the house in case I needed to stop immediately. I did not leave the house during my dry fast and had someone with me. I never felt like I was dying or close to death.

I lasted 5 days, but had to stop cause of very strong insomnia. I hope to try it again soon.

Fasting is a gradual thing....each time you reach a few more days and do a bit more than the last time you fasted.

(04-08-2018 07:49 AM)Ice Man Wrote: There is no 100 page thread anywhere on the internet attesting to the benefits of not drinking fluids, because life sucks dehydrated.

Search for "dry fast" or "dry fasting" on youtube and you'll find hundreds of videos with people who've done it sucessfully and seen even more benefits than those I listed above. I can't embedd too many videos here at once. There's plenty of info there from people who've actually done it.

(04-08-2018 07:06 AM)Mercenary Wrote: Trust those guys who have walked the walk, not just talked the talk. They know first hand how it is to voluntarily go without food or water and the real effects it has on THEIR OWN body.

Ignore the pussies who make excuses about why you should even bother trying.

Absolutely. Most of the replies here seem to be dogmatic BS of opinionated people who have never made a fasting in their life. Gonna try a dry fast. Definitely. Till now I have been a proponent of periodic 10 days "green tea fast" (green tea without sugar of course), and it's incredible how after 4 or 5 hard days, everyday your endurance increase and you feel better and better, to the point that I often even want to push to 14 or 15 days -but it's not always possible because of social life. And yeah, of course you lose weight(5 or 6 kilos in 10 days, or to put it differently, one jean size - jeans size being my barometer, as soon as i feel tight in my size 34 jeans, I make a fasting till they become too loose) ....will see after the dry fast, maybe I'll become a proponent of this method. Will begin maybe tomorrow, but to do that I know myself and should finish today those two six-packs of beer I have in my fridge - it shouldn't be a problem lol.

I was inspired by this thread and decided to do a 1 day fast (water allowed). I was fine for the first 12-13 hours. Began to feel tired and sleepy after that. Took a nap. Drank more water. By Hour # 20 all I could think about was food.

I was trying to do some writing (that's part of my profession) but was unable to put any words on the computer. Broke the fast in Hour # 21.

Between the 12th hour and the 21st hour, I felt a bit lighter but not much else. I guess the benefits come only on days 2, 3, 4 etc. At the moment, I have no idea how to get to that level. Seems like an impossible hurdle to climb given my experience in the 20th hour.

Any suggestions on how I can increase my endurance? Is it just practice and more practice like anything else, or is there something else I can do?

(04-08-2018 08:47 AM)John Quincy Wrote: I was inspired by this thread and decided to do a 1 day fast (water allowed). I was fine for the first 12-13 hours. Began to feel tired and sleepy after that. Took a nap. Drank more water. By Hour # 20 all I could think about was food.

I was trying to do some writing (that's part of my profession) but was unable to put any words on the computer. Broke the fast in Hour # 21.

Between the 12th hour and the 21st hour, I felt a bit lighter but not much else. I guess the benefits come only on days 2, 3, 4 etc. At the moment, I have no idea how to get to that level. Seems like an impossible hurdle to climb given my experience in the 20th hour.

Any suggestions on how I can increase my endurance? Is it just practice and more practice like anything else, or is there something else I can do?

Good start.
You did 21 hours...next time go for 24.
Point is to not get discouraged, keep trying, and do a little bit more than last time.

The first 3 to 4 days are always the most difficult when fasting. That's when your stomach cries incessantly for what it's used to like a spoilt brat child. The human body is usually just like a weak ass democracy - majority rule by the low class. You gotta turn it into a high class brutal dictatorship. Pure willpower. Mind over matter.

After day 3 or 4 your body stops bitchin, whining and complaining and accepts its new master (your mind).

What helped me go past day 3 or 4 was to sleep with some food and drink next to me on the bedside table. It was right there if I wanted it. Sometimes I would stare at it when tempted...but did I want to sell my soul for a quick moment of pleasure or relief ?

(04-08-2018 08:47 AM)John Quincy Wrote: I was inspired by this thread and decided to do a 1 day fast (water allowed). I was fine for the first 12-13 hours. Began to feel tired and sleepy after that. Took a nap. Drank more water. By Hour # 20 all I could think about was food.

I was trying to do some writing (that's part of my profession) but was unable to put any words on the computer. Broke the fast in Hour # 21.

Between the 12th hour and the 21st hour, I felt a bit lighter but not much else. I guess the benefits come only on days 2, 3, 4 etc. At the moment, I have no idea how to get to that level. Seems like an impossible hurdle to climb given my experience in the 20th hour.

Any suggestions on how I can increase my endurance? Is it just practice and more practice like anything else, or is there something else I can do?

Good for you, but I am surprised that you needed to break your fast after only 21 hours. If you stop eating at 6:00 p.m. the night before your fast and go to bed at 10:00 p.m., by the time that you wake up at 6:00 a.m. you have already fasted 12 hours.

BTW: The word "breakfast" comes from the breaking of your fast after you sleep. So, all you must do is fast that entire first day and then sleep until 6:00 a.m. the next morning to complete a 36-hour fast. For most people, a one day fast (to complete a 36-hour fast) is a piece of cake. Perhaps you are adding wrong. Count the entire period that you go without food. My productivity has never suffered on the first day.

Typically, the second day is the real bitch for most people. Your body is switching from burning glucose to fat so your energy can get really low. You can experience brain fog and low energy. Moreover, many people are addicted to caffeine (and other substances) without even knowing it -- so they can get hit by a monster headache on day two -- or not be able to think clearly because of withdrawal. You just need to bull your way through it, knowing that your body is going through withdrawal. I am thinking that is what happened to you, if you felt that lousy.

The way that I do it is as follows: I stop all eating at 6:00 p.m. on a Thursday. I work all day Friday, just like normal. I fast all weekend and just relax and take things easy: no heavy brain work and only light exercise, such as walking in a relaxing atmosphere. No driving after the second day. Have all your food ready for when you break your fast at 6:00 a.m. Monday. I make a broth with organic vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, etc.). I drink only the broth in the morning and then have the cooked vegetables for lunch and dinner. You can also juice instead. What I just described is a 3-1/2 day weekend fast.

This is a big tip: people do not realize how their meals act as guideposts to their days -- and break up the day into discrete segments. Without meals as natural time breaks and guideposts, time can really drag on. If you do a weekend fast, such as I just described, draw up a list of very light-duty things that you can accomplish to kill the time and to keep yourself busy -- and to keep your mind off food. Take a walk during your meal time to break up the day. A light nap is OK, but try not to sleep during the day, because it will likely result in insomnia at night and throw off your normal sleep schedule. Accomplish small tasks but otherwise just chill.

It is important to know that everyone's body and state of health is different. Some people will end a fast feeling as weak as a kitten. Others can run a marathon. I met a guy at the fasting clinic who was running ever day during his re-feeding period (which initially consisted of drinking just juice) after several weeks of fasting. If you feel very poorly after a 2-1/2 day weekend fast, just stop. Wait a few weeks and then try a 3-1/2 day weekend fast. There are no hard rules.

Here is an article about someone's six-day fasting experience at the health clinic at which I did my two-week fast. BTW: I met a woman there who did a three-week fast and felt so good that she extended it to four weeks.

Just finished a two day water fast as I was sick and now I feel much better. That was more a case that I was nauseous and didn't want to eat though.

Longest I've done is five full days with a half day either side -so six if you want to get technical. That was in a meditation hut on a retreat in a Buddhist monastery.

Fasting and partial fasting in Buddhism has a long history but is far more about the effect on the mind than any possible physical health benefits, though there is some overlap of the two.

For that reason treating a fast as some kind of endurance test or struggle would be counter-productive and not worth it from a Buddhist point of view.
But then I accept that to non-Buddhists that view wouldn't necessarily be seen as important.

In terms of good advice and building up to things I would recommend the book "the tao of health sex and longevity" for reading on the subject.

He recommends juice fasts which I see as equally valid and discusses the different benefits from a health point of view as well as technical issues.

Personally I think fasting is at the borders of a positive and healthy lifestyle, something that is nice-to-have but not a must-have - but that which is a very positive practice if done periodically or even as a stand alone.

Of course how we go about eating well and exercising well on the daily is ultimately far more important in terms of health and happiness than the question of whether or not to fast periodically.

If you have never fasted before then initially it will uncomfortable for your body -- so it may be difficult in the beginning but your body adapts rather quick and fasting after some attempts become normal.

I have been doing a dry fast once a week for about 10 years now - usually every Monday since I can stay in that day -- so tomorrow is my dry fast day since today is Sunday. Also for about seven years I would do a twenty one kilometer slow jog on tues after my dry fast - when my body was light and relaxed. After breakfast of course usually on fruits and nuts. Now I go to the gym and do indoor cardio and weights -- but summer is coming so I might try the 21 km slow jogs again. By tues evening I would have the most amazing dinner bc anything you eat tastes great -- even spinach and kale. And of course you feel high and full of energy for at least two or more days.

It is a fantastic lifestyle approach. Fasting also clears up your mind so you can think better, improves your moods, and you just feel good. Naturally with no induced drugs. Helps you have a nice sleep also.

Mercenary and Tailgunner: Many thanks for the feedback and encouragement. Those gifs are gold! Thanks to Bain and Bienventuo as well.

Re: my feeling hungry after 20 hours: This was my first time fasting. Also, I'm overweight and perpetually stressed out with work so my coffee intake is generally high (3-4 large cups a day). I am working on improving my health, but my weight and stress levels are probably the reasons why I was struggling at the 20 hour mark. I'm guessing you guys are ripped (or at least in decent shape) so 20 hours is a cakewalk.

I did the fast on Friday. One thing I noticed yesterday and today is that I don't feel like eating as much. It's almost as if my stomach has shrunk a bit (although probably not actually true).

I plan to do another fast this week. Will report back.

Curious about your view on juice fasts. Do you consider these an actual fast? Seems like a slippery slope. If juice is okay, why not a banana every 12 hours? Or an apple? And on and on.

(04-08-2018 04:31 PM)John Quincy Wrote: Mercenary and Tailgunner: Many thanks for the feedback and encouragement. Those gifs are gold! Thanks to Bain and Bienventuo as well.

Re: my feeling hungry after 20 hours: This was my first time fasting. Also, I'm overweight and perpetually stressed out with work so my coffee intake is generally high (3-4 large cups a day). I am working on improving my health, but my weight and stress levels are probably the reasons why I was struggling at the 20 hour mark. I'm guessing you guys are ripped (or at least in decent shape) so 20 hours is a cakewalk.

I did the fast on Friday. One thing I noticed yesterday and today is that I don't feel like eating as much. It's almost as if my stomach has shrunk a bit (although probably not actually true).

I plan to do another fast this week. Will report back.

Curious about your view on juice fasts. Do you consider these an actual fast? Seems like a slippery slope. If juice is okay, why not a banana every 12 hours? Or an apple? And on and on.

Technically, taking in anything other than water is not a true fast, but simply some form of restricted diet. However, a juice fast, if done with fresh organic vegetables (with just a little fruit -- like an organic apple -- for flavor) can be extremely healthy. There are many health benefits to juicing, including acting as a form of cleanse and enhancing detoxification.

But -- and this is a BIG "but" -- if you do a juice fast your body and brain will never fully make the switch from burning glucose (carbohydrates) to fat, you will never reach full ketosis, and you will never experience the full benefits of an extended water only fast. These benefits include highly enhanced autophogy, which is the self-cannibalization of sick and injured cells and their replacement with new healthy cells. Another downside of an extended juice fast is that -- unlike a water fast -- you will likely never lose your hunger.

I would recommend that you give up coffee for a few days before you begin your next fast so that you experience any withdrawal symptoms (which usually last a day or two) before you begin your fast -- making your success far more likely.

If I may also add, Many Doctors, pharmaceutical industry and the food industry do not want people to know about fasting bc it cuts on their profits. So they tend to talk negative about fasting.

Many medical ailments can be best managed or even cured by fasting long enough and eating properly after. However, a lot of Doctors will discourage you to fast and will instead get you to buy some expensive medicine or drugs. So I am skeptical of getting medical supervision unless you have a serious medical ailment - but even with serious ailments fasting may help a lot.

Fasting also prevents many ailments and diseases from starting.

Proper fasting is perhaps one of the most important skill sets that one can learn and it needs to be developed overtime. Everyone needs to learn it at a young age, and you will likely find less people getting sick which means a huge reduction to the medical industry which is heavily financed by tax payers.

So it would be great if members of this forum would attempt to develop their skill of fasting by starting to do one and post their experiences and results here. You will likely get quality feed back to any question you have. You will also get inspired and so will others. Avoid all the negative talk.

I have done a water fast for 2.5 days until the hunger got to me. The benefits I found were better orgasms during sex and my workouts did a lot better. I felt as if though it reset my body. I'd like to do one for a week and see where that goes.

I did a 24-hour fast and a 30-hour fast earlier this year, consuming only water and black coffee. I usually do 16/8 intermittent fasting anyway, and when I was too busy to eat, I just decided to see how far I could extend it comfortably. Calorie-wise, I may have made up for it by eating more the following day.

It was pretty easy, although I felt a little distracted by the end. I don't see any reason at this point to repeat it deliberately, but it's good to know that I can easily go without food when necessary. I have used this secret weapon when flying and don't want to eat crappy airport/airplane food.

Bring up the subject of fasting or intermittent fasting / skipping breakfast and notice how many people reflexively say 'oh, I could never do that'. Of course, they've never tried but they're sure they would never adjust. Or they'll say how unhealthy missing meal is. Also, they're not aware of the growing evidence that the food pyramid and cholesterol warnings are baseless.